Happily Ever After?
by LilianPearl
Summary: Harry and Ginny are married with three children,have a huge house,lots of money and are well respected by everyone...But then why are they so unhappy with their life?Takes a look at some of the main character in hp reacting to Ginny and Harry's problems.
1. Eimear

_**Disclaimer: I don**__**'**__**t own Harry Potter, or any of the characters except for Eimear**_

'_Harry!' The voice was so piercing and forced him to frown. The last thing he remembered was falling onto his bed and going to sleep. He didn't hear his wife come in, or leave. But she did. She was nowhere to be seen beside him. And Harry was thankful. He tried to keep his eyes shut and go back to a particularly pleasant dream he had been having. One which was a bit too dirty to repeat. But alas, the voice kept yelling and yelling until he shouted back._

'_Coming __darling_.' This was a regular occurrence now. The sarcasm they both used when they spoke to each other. And everyone picked up on it. 

Harry was twenty-four years old. He had went through an awful lot in his life. Much more than a person his age should have. At the age of one he lost his parents. By eleven he was battling an evil wizard that wanted him dead. And when he was seventeen, he finally defeated him. He saw much death in his life and after Lord Voldemort was gone, he thought things would get better for him. There would be nothing but happiness. He had a beautiful girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. They married and had three children. But ever since the birth of their second son, _that _was when things went bad for Harry Potter again.

'What do you want?' Harry called roughly from the bottom of the stairs. He had put on a pyjamas bottom but remained topless. He knew Ginny didn't like him walking around downstairs like that in case her mother flooed them, but he did it just to spite her.

'I _want _you to wake up. It's half two in the evening. Do you even want to spend time with your own children?' Ginny popped her head around the door to the hallway, balancing one year old Lily on her hip. The little girl had one hand stuck in her mouth, and the other messing up the tuft of black hair on her head. She looked up at her father with huge brown eyes. Harry felt a pang of guilt when it looked like she had been crying. He could hear James and Albus in .the kitchen, both causing some sort of trouble. Harry instantly recognised Albus' cry. James had probably hit him. That was usually the case. 

'I do, but that means I'll have to be around you.' As soon as Harry said this he wished he didn't. James and Albus continued to yell, Albus hoping for one of his parents to come in and put a stop to it. However both were much too distracted with their growing argument. The circumstances were rather difficult. The Weasley's were just like his family. His brother-in-law was his best friend. He _should _be nice to Ginny. If he wasn't he felt incredibly guilty. But even as more time passed, Harry found he didn't care. He wasn't particularly fond of Ginny, but he still loved the Weasley's and he shouldn't feel bad for it. 

The person who had told him this was Hermione. It took her weeks to get through to him. She and Ron were the only people who really knew how serious this thing between Harry and Ginny was. Ginny obviously told Hermione, who told Ron. But that was as far as it went. Harry made Ron promise he wouldn't speak a word of it to his parents. He claimed he wanted to sort it out. In truth he was just buying time. 

'Harry, I'm not taking sides.' Hermione Granger-Weasley said hotly as Harry accused her of doing so. 'Ginny _is _my friend, but so are you.'

'Well, what the fuck do you want me to do then? You don't know what it's like to live with her. She's so frustrating. Then she goes to you, and tells all this stupid stories. Making _me _look like the bad guy. I'm surprised you're _not _taking sides.'

'Harry.' Hermione said again, trying to keep her cool even though Harry was practically shouting at her, 'She said you never came home last weekend at all.'

'So?'

'So, it's true?'

'Yea. What's the big deal? If I came home I'd just be depressed out of my mind.'

'Where in the name of Merlin were you?' She knew he sometimes had Quidditch matches, where he'd have to be away for the weekend. But she learned from Ginny, that was one of his weekends off.

'None of your business Hermione. When she stops nagging me, then I'll come home. I think that's a pretty fair deal, don't you?'

Harry knew his whereabouts could _never _be disclosed. Hermione, although loyal, was also loyal to her husband, who would have no problem telling everyone what Harry was doing if he found out. Harry wouldn't blame Ron for it either. Ginny was his family. You protect your family. But that didn't mean Harry was about to let anyone know what he was up to. Part of him felt ashamed of himself. But he always justified it in the end. For the past six months, Harry was seeing someone else. It was very exciting, everything about it. In the beginning he was very nervous, always thought he was just about to be caught. But as time went on he grew more confident and made much more daring excuses for his absence. Eimear Fennessy, was in fact the real excuse he hadn't been around many weekends. She was a nineteen year old Irish girl, living in London while attending college. Apart from all the Ron business, Harry wouldn't tell Hermione about Eimear for another reason; her appearance. Harry knew all that stupid psychological stuff that Hermione was into. She did so much of it when she went to University to be a healer. And Harry knew for a fact that she would tell him he's cheating on Ginny with someone who looks like her, but just a little younger, because he misses the time they did have when they were young. In truth he _did _miss it. But in his opinion, it was the end of an era. Stop dwelling on the past. Eimear isn't moody and cranky all the time. She doesn't make him turn around or leave the room when she's getting changed. She doesn't have a fit if she sees him walk out of the en suite naked, in fact, she'd probably take full advantage of his lack of dress. 

In a way she did remind Harry of when he was with Ginny those few years ago. He was only twenty-four but he felt so old. He felt that it was much longer than just a few years when Ginny had been a young girl of nineteen. She had looked so pretty. Harry felt that she just tried to make herself look horrible on purpose. He didn't mean he wanted her to dress up fancy every night, put on make-up or anything, but a shower every so often would be nice. Ginny, now being completely consumed with her children, spent little time on herself, and even less on Harry. He understood children needed attention, but he did too. He didn't feel being completely ignored was what every wife did to their husband after three kids. Didn't Mr and Mrs Weasley have seven? Harry could safely say he loved Eimear. He had been with her six months and it completely took all the stress out of him at home. He could endure a rant coming from Ginny for the entire night without batting an eyelid. Over the past few years Ginny's hair became shorter and shorter, leaving her with a bob that came down to her chin. It framed her face nicely, but Harry missed when he could run his fingers through her hair. Eimear, her deep red hair fell to her waist. It was always so soft and shiny and Harry loved touching it. At first when he met her, he used to think of Ginny when he touched her hair, but then he stopped that. Ginny rarely entered his mind when he was with Eimear anymore. And if she did, it was rarely a nice thought. 

Eimear, unlike Ginny had huge blue eyes. Dark blue, and sometimes they turned green. They were always painted black, making them stand out the most on her face. She had two facial piercings, one in the centre of her lip, and the other across the bridge of her nose. Harry loved her because she was so eccentric. She also reminded Harry a bit of Tonks. And he wished he could introduce her to Teddy, he thought he would like to meet someone who acted so like his mum. She was studying at the best magical university in England. She was into her third year of wizarding law. It was more than just the piercings that made her look unusual. She also enjoyed tattoos. The first night Harry spent with her he enjoyed exploring her body for her tattoos, hearing the stories behind them. After their fifth month of being together, she did something crazy. She surprised him for their fifth month anniversary with a tattoo of his name on her collar bone. He thought it was wonderful, but felt guilty. He was no stranger to tattoos but even still, he couldn't imagine trying to hide a tattoo saying Eimear from Ginny. She knew that, and insisted it was okay. But he thought it was very unfair seeing as he had Ginny's name written just below his naval. That couldn't have been all that enjoyable to look at. Eimear did enjoy looking at his other tattoos which she thought were very sweet. He had James and Albus each tattooed on his wrists, and Lily over his heart. Harry and Ginny didn't get on, but he never stopped telling Eimear about his children. She could tell they meant a lot to him and he wanted to be with them. It was really a difficult situation. Harry and Ginny's problems were causing Harry to become distant, which in turn made him spend less time with his children. His time home was spent arguing with his wife. Some weekends he'd take James and Albus who were just three and four, with him to his Quidditch matches, but that meant no Eimear that night. Not that she minded. She wanted him to be with his sons, even if it made her a little lonely in the end. But that wasn't anything to complain about. She shouldn't be with a married man in the first place. 

Harry enjoyed his Quidditch matches. It gave him a reason to get away from Ginny for awhile. He had to rent a hotel room for the two nights he was away. He'd arrive an hour before Eimear, tell her which room he was in and wait for her to come to him. She had to be extremely careful. This was Harry Potter she was having an affair with. Not just anyone. Things had to be done right, or else it'd be disastrous. He was waiting on the bed for her. He really didn't have to be here this early. The hotel room was just for sleeping in after training and after the match. But he claimed he needed a lot of rest before the game, which he couldn't get at home because of the children. The door to the room quickly shot open and Eimear hurried inside. She briskly shut the door before turning to face her lover. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was falling over her face. She brushed it back to reveal her pierced face. She smiled slightly. She always felt guilty at the beginning, Harry knew this. So he got up and walked over to her, feeling that they only had Friday night, then Saturday and Sunday to be together, so they might as well get right to it. He grabbed her face and planted a very wet kiss on her lips. Her hands moved up to his and held on to them tightly, as if she was contemplating pushing them away. But eventually, gave in and moved her hands down to his waist. She played with the hem of his t-shirt for a few moments. He was ready to jump into bed straight away, whereas she wanted to linger on the more innocent stuff for a while.

'Harry… Har-' She broke off, giggling as he went to kiss her neck. This always tickled her. He didn't know why, as Ginny used to love this. 'Harry, stop. I have to put something on.'

'Ooh, lingerie?' He asked, he got down on his knees in front of her and pushed her skirt up, so it was more of a bulky belt. 'I don't mind these ones.' He said, taking a look at the lacy green knickers she had on.

'Yea, but these are-' She broke off again as his fingers touched a particularly sensitive area. 'Can you ever let me relax when I get here?' Another thing Harry loved was her accent. It was adorable. It was possibly his favourite accent ever. He particularly loved when she said grand. That always made him smile. 

He shook his head at her, grinning slyly. In Eimear's opinion, Ginny Potter was mental. How could she not like _this_? Her husband was absolutely brilliant at it, _and _he was gorgeous. Harry had told her that Ginny didn't want to have sex anymore. She could tell Harry was affected, but she was sincerely happy. She didn't want Harry to be having sex with his wife and was glad to hear that the last time they did it was probably about the time their last child was conceived with was close to two years ago. She couldn't believe he remained so good after that length of time. She was envious of Ginny. Ginny had three children with him, she was married to him, and had a beautiful house, she _would _have been having incredible sex. Eimear on the other hand, was having an affair with one of the hottest Quidditch players ever, and she couldn't even tell her friends. They were constantly at her to get a boyfriend, and she couldn't say she already had one. Harry had told her he wanted a divorce from Ginny. But she knew he was scared. Her family were his only family. They would definitely pick her side over this. 

'Hermione, can I talk to you?' Harry had just flooed into Ron and Hermione's living room. The place was a mess. Which was very unlike Hermione. Rose's toys were everywhere. Hermione looked completely insane as she bounced Hugo on her knee. He was one, just like Lily. It seemed all the women he knew were having nervous breakdowns. Ginny couldn't handle her marriage and Hermione was struggling with parenthood. He remembered the night Hugo was born, with Hermione hissing at Ron they would never have another child again. She was content to stop with Rose. But Ron, of course, wanted a son. 

'Yea?' She asked, not noticing the urgency in his voice. It wasn't until he sat down and waited for a few moments in silence did she realise that there was a problem. He wanted to tell someone about Eimear. And Hermione seemed the most logical person. She would definitely be able to come up with a solution on the spot. She was good at that. She observed him for a few moments, eyebrows raised, no longer bouncing Hugo, who had seemed to calm down a lot and was now observing his uncle with keen interest. Harry abruptly rose from his seat and began pasing the room.

'Oh Hermione, I didn't mean for this to happen-'

'Whoa, whoa. What? What happened?'

'It's Ginny… I…I. Fuck.' He rubbed a hand across his forehead, feeling a migraine come on. It always did whenever he got worked up about this Ginny and Eimear thing. 

'Harry, please don't curse in front of Hugo.' But it was no use. Harry was no on a roll with cursing. Every word that came out of his mouth was a curse and Hermione wasn't able to understand what his problem was exactly.

'Did you and Ginny have another row?' She aksed wearily, 'I told you, you both just need to talk to someone and get it worked out. You know, counselling works for a lot of-'

'I don't _want _to make it work, I just want out.'

'Harry, you don't mean that.' She frowned at him in distain. 'You love Ginny. You've been together for ages.'

'I _used _to love Ginny, okay? And I want you to tell everyone.' Harry came to the decision that no one had to know about Eimear. If he could get Hermione to inform everyone of his change of heart then Eimear could be introduced into the equation for what everyone thought was the first time in a few weeks. Sure the Weasley's would be mad. But if it's over it's over.

'Harry, I'm _not _telling Molly and Arthur that you want to leave their only daughter. Tell them yourself.'

'I can't! They were the only people that were really good to me. I've been practically living with them since I was twelve. How can I divorce from their daughter?'

'Harry, they will be mad-'

He cut her off, not waiting for her to finish her sentence. He was becoming very anxious, trying to convince himself that it would work out okay, 'If I don't love Ginny then the worst thing I could do it stay with her, right? Won't they prefer knowing that their daughter can be happy with someone else if she wants-'

'Harry, do you think Ginny is cheating on you?'

Harry replied with a grimace, and began to wring his hands, feeling guilty after what Hermione had just said, 'I wish she was.' He muttered, running his hands through his hair and sighing loudly. 'Hermione, I am.'

A few seconds of silence went by. 'You're what?'

'It's me. _I'm _cheating on her.'


	2. Ginny

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters except for Eimear**__. _

_After he told Hermione he ignored her for a week. He took refuge in Eimear's house. Letting her know everything that happened._

'_She'll be bound to tell Ginny, so it's out there now.'_

'_Do you regret it?' Eimear asked, placing a gentle hand on his back, trying to comfort him. Inside, she was ecstatic. But she had to show some compassion. He had been married to Ginny for a good while. He was sure to feel some sort of regret for what he did. _

'_No. Of course not. I love you.' He said instantly, looking sharply up at Eimear, 'I just feel bad… I wish I never married her… No, I don't. I loved her. Once anyway. I just feel bad because her family- This is so shit.'_

_The week passed by. Nothing from Hermione, nothing from Ron, nothing from Ginny. If Hermione had told there would be something at this stage. Harry thought the peace and quite at Eimear's flat would do him good. But no, when it was silent he missed James, Albus and Lily. They all made so much noise combined it was hard to relax when he was so unused to the silence. He decided to head back to the house, thinking it must be safe after a week._

'_Get the fuck out of here now.' Was what greeted him as he stumbled through the front door, holding out his hand for the light switch on the wall closest to him._

'_Er… What were you doing sitting in the dark?' He didn't want to know why he had to leave, so he tried to change the topic of conversation. But he knew, if Ginny was mad. She'd be so for a long time. Hadn't he gone close to three years with non-stop arguments already? _

'_None of your business, now get out of the house.'_

'_Excuse me, I __own _this house.' It was true. Harry paid for everything. Ginny _wanted _to be a housewife and mother. 

'That's not what you said when it was bought.'

'Yea, well, things change dear.'

'Clearly.' Ginny said icily, crossing her arms over her chest, 'Whatever, the kids are here. And if I leave they have to come with me, and I won't find any place to stay tonight. Plus, they're all asleep, no point in waking them.'

'Well, you know where the couch is darling.' Harry said making his way to the stairs but Ginny drew out her wand and glared at him.

'I swear, if you take one more step into this house I'll hex you.'

'Oh come on. Gin, just leave it. I'll sleep in the spare room, happy? Night.' But this wasn't good enough for Ginny she hurried forward, dug her want into her husbands chest.

'You don't have to stay here. Go back to _her_.'

'Who?' Harry's heart began to thump wildly in his chest. So Hermione had told. Why hadn't he been warned. Hermione just wanted to see him tricked. So unfair, just because he was the man. Ginny and Hermione would of course stick together. 

'Whoever you've been cheating on me with.' Ginny said shrilly. Harry winced and sincerely hoped that the children wouldn't wake up to hear this. 

'Well… What do you expect?' Harry gave in, 'Just because we're married and we live together, it doesn't mean we like each other. I sure as hell know you don't like me. Fuck, we pretty much sleep in separate rooms.'

'Yea well, it's because of you.'

'Me?…Are you on drugs or something? Me? What did I do?' This is something Harry would have loved to hear. He honestly didn't do anything. It was Ginny's fault.

'You won't accept how I feel-'

'And you wouldn't accept it when I told you I loved you and you were always gorgeous.'

'You were lying.'

'See.'

'Harry, look at me!'

Harry rolled his eyes and turned away to walk up the stairs. He had been through this conversation for years. He was sick of it. He was sick of her. Everything about her. It was her fault. She turned him against her. She was neurotic. She wanted him to think her as ugly and now she had it. He was no longer interested. After Albus was born, that was when everything changed. Ginny was self-conscious. At first Harry understood. She was just feeling bad about her skin and her stomach and she'd soon get over it. But she never did. Harry was patient with her. Closing his eyes when she got undressed, going without sex for months. He always made a big deal about telling her how good she looked, but it was useless. It seemed like she didn't want to hear it, and eventually, with all the crazy excuses she made up to not have sex, he began to grow bored of his wife, and got used to the fact they weren't going to have sex. Two years later when Lily was born, Harry felt he was in hell with Ginny.

'Who is she?' Ginny whispered, following him up the stairs and into the spare room.

'No one you know.' Harry threw off his shirt and Ginny blushed. 

'Don't get undressed in front of me!' She said and Harry looked at her disbelievingly and shook his head. He went ahead with unbuckling his belt.

'Ginny. Don't do that. We have three children. Don't do that whole virgin act, it pisses me the fuck off.'

'I'm not doing the virgin act, I just have more respect for myself than you-'

Harry let out a dry laugh, 'No, Ginny. You're just fucked up in the head, okay? I want someone who doesn't hide themselves, it's really depressing being here.'

'Leave then.'

'Told you already.' Harry said lightly, walking to the bed in his boxers, 'I own this house. Why don't you get your own?'

These arguments were so common, Harry didn't take it too seriously. The next morning he would wake up and Ginny would be cooking breakfast, acting as if everything was great in front of the children. Harry was positive they didn't notice a thing. Children that age would hardly be able to tell, would they? But Harry, having never had parents, wasn't sure of how they were reacting, if at all. Though he was soon to find out.

Four year old James was the one to notice it. Harry felt a pang of guilt when he realised how clever is eldest son was to notice something like that between two parents at such a young age. Ginny was leaving for the day with Lily, leaving the boys with their father. She said goodbye to both James and Albus, hugging and kissing them as she backed out the door. Harry, who wasn't in the slightest bit bothered with his wife leaving, sat in front of the television, with his feet on the coffee table.

'Daddy?'

'Hmm?' James had crept up behind the couch, being tailed by Albus. Albus was much more clingy than James was. He never, ever wanted to be left alone at any point. If Ginny left, he cried, if Harry left, he cried, even if James tried to sneak away to play alone, he'd cause a fuss. He was carrying a tattered teddy bear. He also clung on to the teddy bear with immense sentimentality, not ever wanting to be without it.

'Daddy, why don't you hug Mummy when she leaves anymore?'

Harry was so shocked with the question he forgot he hadn't answered his son, who was still looking curiously up at him. He thought quickly of what to say, but nothing came to mind at all, he glanced at the television for inspiration, and finally got it, though admittedly it wasn't very clever, but he was tired and in no mood to be clever.

'Oh, look James. Bob the Builder. You love that, don't you?' Perhaps his son wasn't as smart as he initially thought as James willingly took the bait. Seating himself on the couch beside his father to watch the programme.

Harry was positive that James could easily be a muggle. Out of the three children he had the least interest in magic and the most interest in television. 

Harry couldn't remember the last time he watched television with Ginny. It seemed like it was a lifetime ago since they ever shared anything together. Harry, without giving it much thought, instantly blamed his other half. She was too timid nowadays. She was always so uncertain. Little things she did just drove him insane, like how she always locked the door to the bathroom. It was as if she was _trying _to keep him away from her. Also things like how she would never undress in front of him, she wore a big nightgown when she came out of the bathroom, determined to hide every inch of herself from her husband. Harry felt as if Ginny was torturing him on purpose. Especially after certain stunts she had pulled in the past

'Of course mum, we'd love to come! We'll be there.' Harry could hear Ginny's voice drifting in under the door. He could hear the noise of her high heels as she walked her mother through the hall. Molly seemed rather hesitant in leaving.

'But Ginny dear, I rarely see you.'

'I know mum, I said we'd be there-'

'How's Harry? Where is he now?'

'He's watching something on the television.'

Harry didn't have the slightest clue what idiotic event his wife had signed him up for today. He waited patiently in the living room for his wife to find him. With just one glance at her facial expression Harry decided it would be best not to turn down the volume. She waited a moment or two for him to reach for the remote, when he did not she roughly grabbed it off the couch and turned the television completely off, earning a disgusted look from her husband.

'What now my dearest?' He asked grimly and she flung herself down on the arm chair to his left, still shooting daggers at him, as if daring him to use a pet name again.

'Fred and George's birthday. Forgot about it completely.'

'So, what's the big deal? What's got your knickers in a knot?'

'Do you know how much this cherade sickens me?' Harry was just about to retort when Ginny let out a rather unusual sigh. It sounded like the noise she made when Harry was frustrating her a lot. Her eyes were still fixed on the ceiling. 'What did I ask you to do yesterday Harry?'

'I don't know. I rarely listen-'

'I asked you to mind James and Albus, right?'

Harry paused, wondering how he should answer this. Yes, he had in fact been asked to mind them. And he thought he did a pretty good job overall. Both boys were in bed by half eight and Harry enjoyed a lot of the more adult channels that Ginny didn't know he had ordered. He decided to just nod. Ginny's anger was inevitable either way.

'And, _why _did you leave them unsupervised in the living room with their toy brooms?' Harry opened and closed his mouth like a gold fish. How on earth did she know that? Harry himself even struggled to remember the exact details of it. He had just brought James and Albus back from getting ice-cream. In they went to the living room to watch a dvd. While sitting on the sofa, James cruelly knocked Albus' out of his hand and Harry, just to stop the crying had to hurriedly find a substitution in the kitchen.

'Harry, if you feel incapable of looking after your own _children_, maybe I could drop them to Ron and Hermione when I go out. At least I won't have to worry about stuff like _this_.'

'Stuff like what? How did you even know?'

Ginny didn't respond. She just pointed up at the ceiling. Harry craned his neck and noticed many colourful scribbles all over the ceiling of their living room. James and Albus, so excited about being alone, took out all their crayons, mounted their little brooms and drew Merlin knows what on the beautifully white ceilings that Ginny had slaved over. 

'Oh…'

'Yes, oh. Maybe you should learn to grow up before you decided to have children.' Ginny shot up and excited the room, and Harry contented himself with calling sarcastically after her retreating back.

'Takes two to tango sweetheart.' And he reached for the remote to turn back on his programme. Ginny was crazy, no one even looks at the ceiling anyway. Harry didn't see what the big deal was.

It was those little incidents which drove Harry insane. Everything was an argument, and if he didn't back down and let Ginny think she'd won then it would last days. They would argue about the silliest things, and Harry got the feeling Ron and Hermione always did their best to not be alone with the couple. Neither Ginny nor Harry ever thought about hiding their difficulties from their friends, which would result in Ron or Hermione getting very embarrassed and apologise for starting off the conversation that led to fighting. 

Well, at least it was all out in the open now. And Harry couldn't help but feel slightly thankful for Hermione telling Ginny. It had it's upsides too, like, he wouldn't have to continue lying to her, she'd now know _where _he was going. Also, it would really help now that he didn't have to worry about telling her. If he had to break the news to her, he was positive she would have done a lot worse… Hermione possibly calmed her down before releasing her on Harry, which he was also thankful for. 

'Good morning!' Harry said brightly the next day, ruffling Albus' hair. Lily gurgled happily, picking up on the fact that her father was in an unusually good mood. 

'Yea, brilliant.' Ginny said sarcastically, slamming her cup on the kitchen table. Harry raised his eyebrows at her. When she had a temper, there was no way she was able to control it. Which Harry found annoying, even around her own children Ginny didn't have the ability to act civil. Though, then again, Harry thought, how would he himself react to find Ginny cheating on him?

It was a tricky situation really. He'd be hurt. But he thought he'd be able to get over it quick enough… After all, when had him and his wife ever been close recently. It would definitely not have come as such a shock as it seemed to have done for her.

'Do you have any respect for our marriage at all?' Ginny asked in disbelief, again, she seemed oblivious to the fact James and Albus were looking at her curiously. Not entirely sure what she was on about, but getting a pretty good idea that their father had annoyed her.

'Just as much as you do darling.' Harry said, trying to keep his tone of voice as airy as possible.

'Going to see her today?'

'Look, I'm not talking about this right now.' Harry sighed, deciding that pretending to be cheerful wasn't going to help this situation, 'You're being completely selfish-'

'Me! Me?' Ginny let out a very fake laugh, which now had all three children staring at her in awe. Her voice was getting louder and louder and Lily was soon going to be close to tears, 'What about _you_? You're out… Out! Doing Merlin knows what!'

Harry nodded pointedly towards his sons causing Ginny to break off looking slightly ashamed of herself. It was not Lily who started crying, it was Albus. James gave him a punch in the shoulder as if to bring him to his senses.

'James! Don't hit your brother!' Ginny said angrily, swooping down on both of them, 'I'm sorry Albus. I didn't mean to upset you-'

But he could not be consoled, for which Ginny also blamed her husband for. 'If you didn't start this off-'

'Ginny.' Harry said in a warning voice, 'I said good morning.' He had been standing in the doorway and decided it was time to leave, if he wasn't there, at least Ginny would be able to handle looking after children.

He wasn't too sure if Albus hopping off his seat and following him out of the room was going to help Ginny's temper at all, and even worse, for the first time, James copied Albus and hurried out the door calling his brothers name. 


	3. Ron

**Disclaimer: I don****'****t own Harry Potter, or any of the characters except for Eimear**

'And they what? Just followed you out the door?' Ron asked after finishing his drink at the Leaky Cauldron. He was sitting across from his best friend looking at him in disbelief.

'Yup.' Harry said shortly, lifting up his glass but merely looking into its contents, swirling them around as he spoke.

'Wow… I know Ginny. And she _won't _like that.' Ron laughed a bit at the end of the sentence.

'This isn't funny Ron!' Harry replied angrily, 'I know she's going to hate it… But I can't help if she's insane and they pick up on that… What was I meant to do? Force them back into the kitchen?'

'Harry… I know the two of you are…' Ron paused and smiled once more, 'How do I say this without hurting your feelings?… Ah, right. Crazy. The two of you are crazy. But… You guys seem even worse than you normally do. What's up?'

'You don't know?' Harry asked in surprise. 'I'm sure Hermione would have told you-'

'She said there was something going on, but she wouldn't tell me. Said it was your job.'

Harry grunted in response, so that was Hermione's plan. She decided to punish him by making him tell his own brother-in-law. She was one nasty piece of work…

'So, what's wrong?' Ron asked, looking across at Tom, the barman, raising his hand, indicating he wanted two more drinks over at their table.

'I really don't think you'll like it-'

'Harry, I know, when it comes to Ginny we have our differences.' This made Harry roll his eyes, damn right he had. The differences were Ron didn't want Harry anywhere near his sister. 'But, you've been married five years now. And I've come to accept… What you do together…' He trailed off looking uncomfortable.

'What we _do _together? Ron, we don't do anything!' Harry said incredulously, surely Ron would have been able to guess that their sex life was non-existent.

Ron shook his head hard and held up his hands to silence Harry, 'Whoa, don't… mention that again… Please.' It took a few moments to recover. And by that time, Tom had sent over two more drinks. Ron started at his eagerly, watching Harry expectantly.

'I really don't think I should tell you here.' Harry said simply, shrugging and draining his last pint.

'Why not?' Ron asked, glancing around while lowering his voice, 'Who's here?… And what the bloody hell is it?'

'It's too crowded.' Harry said quietly, 'If you get mad, which I know you will I'll need to be somewhere more private.'

'Mad? Why would I get mad? Come on, it's me you're talking to… Not crazy Hermione.'

Harry thought of this for a minute. That was very true. Hermione tends to be a bit more unpredictable than Ron, and yet she was completely calm when Harry told her… But on the other hand. Ron was Ginny's brother, and Harry knew from past experiences that Ron was very protective of her. Ron always stood up for Harry when the two were fighting, but somehow Harry didn't think Ron would accept this.

'Nah. It's okay.' Harry quickly came to his conclusion and started to think of something he could distract Ron with.

'No! I know now. You have to tell me… Okay.' Ron looked around once more and lowered his voice, clearly not wanting anyone to hear him say this, 'Look, I _promise _I won't get mad… I'm sure whatever it is, there's a perfectly rational explanation for. Right?'

Harry lapsed into silence. Mulling Ron's words over in his mind. He was clearly being sincere, but Harry couldn't help but feel, this was Ron's sister. He would not accept any excuse Harry might have for this. Even if it was a perfectly rational one as Ron had put it himself.

'Okay… fine.' Harry put his drink down, 'You know how me and Ginny… We don't exactly get along, you know?' Ron nodded and urged him to continue, 'Well, for half a year now… I've been cheating on Ginny…Ron?'

He had not said anything, but the second Harry said the word 'cheating' his eyes became sort of glazed and he stared past Harry's ear into the far corner.

'Are you okay?' Harry hesitantly waved a hand in front of Ron's face.

His eyes did not move from the spot upon which they were transfixed, but Ron's mouth slowly opened, 'Wow…'

'I know, Ron. I'm really sorry. I know it's stupid-'

'So, Ginny knows?'

'Yea…'

'Hey, no wonder she's mad!' Ron, as Harry expected instantly took his sisters side on the matter.

Harry rolled his eyes at his best-friend, 'Duh idiot. I know she's mad. That's not what I'm complaining about…'

'What are you complaining about?'

'She was mad _way _before I started cheating on her.' Harry knew that Ron knew this, but he thought it would benefit him if he reminded Ron of that fact. Ginny and him were useless together. They were for years. In Harry's opinion, he didn't know why Ginny was so upset, he didn't see the logic in Ron's defence of Ginny.

'Yea, I suppose.' Ron said glumly, 'You really know how to put a downer on a good night out? Anyone ever tell you that?… What?' Harry had been looking at Ron with a look of disbelief on his face.

'Well… It's just, I didn't expect you to actually _not _get mad… I mean, it's a big deal-'

'It's a _huge _deal… But I understand. Hey, I'm still pissed off with you!' Ron added quickly, sensing Harry getting a bit too comfortable.

'I know… Of course I know you would. It's not like I'm completely ecstatic with this situation either you know.'

'Harry, listen.' Ron said in a very business like way, 'With time things will get better, okay? I'll talk to Ginny too… And I'm sure as soon as you let her know that you've broken it off with whatever slut you're fucking, things can slowly get back to normal-'

A number of things Ron said insulted him, and in spite of the fact the were in a very crowded area, Harry wasn't going to let Ron get away with them, 'She is _not _a random slut Ron.'

'Oh come on Harry! You're married. You have three children. Whoever she is, she's not worth exchanging all of that for. Ginny is clearly a _way _better person than that whore… And don't look at me like that Harry! If she's having an affair with someone who's married of course she's a whore.'

'Ron, you're so narrow-minded. And another thing, I'm _not _breaking up with her… I want to get a divorce.'

'_You _want to divorce _my _baby sister?'

'Ron, stop. She's not a defenceless little girl? She brought this on herself!'

'Brought it on herself? Just because you can't keep your hands to yourself does _not _mean it was her fault.'

'Ron, you even said it countless times! Ginny is insane! You saw what she was like for years before this happened!'

'Okay, maybe I did!' Ron said defensively, his voice getting louder with every word, 'But you won't leave my sister for someone you've known for a measly six months. You don't even love her! You've been with Ginny for years. You can't just up and find someone new and decide that!'

'I didn't just up and find someone new! You just don't get it do you? I've known Ginny for years, yea! But we've also been at each others throats for about half of them. So I waited a pretty long time before _finding someone new_!'

This was what Harry had been afraid of. But, it honestly didn't go as bad as he had originally thought it might have. Ron was quite understanding, which Harry though was very big of him. But, when it came to the facts, that Harry didn't want to be with Ginny, naturally, Ron tried to protect her. He wanted Harry to be with her because he didn't want her to have to go through a divorce… But that wasn't Harry's problem. He had the right to a life, just as much as Ron and Hermione did. And if he wanted to be separated from Ginny, that's what he was going to do.

Harry looked around the small pub once Ron had vacated his seat. Half the pub had heard them arguing, but thankfully, Ron had been clever enough to not raise his voice too loud.

'Alright Mr Potter?' Tom called over suspiciously, as he wiped a glass that he held in his hand.

'Yea, sure.' Harry faked a smile, he had been very used to doing that the past few years, so it was nothing too difficult. Tom looked away from Harry, shrugging his shoulders, a few other people followed his lead and went back to whatever they were doing.

Harry thought fondly of the first time he was ever in this pub. He was eleven years old and he was just after learning about magic… Hagrid brought him here. Everyone shook his hand, welcoming Harry back into their world. He met Voldemort there too, not realising it was him of course. It was impossible to imagine that that much time had passed since he was first here. It didn't seem like all that long ago. Many things happened in this pub. He had even stayed here just before his third year alone. He had to flee Privet Drive after he blew up Aunt Marge, then he saw Sirius for the first time in his animagi form…The Weasley's came to the Leaky Cauldron a few days later, Ginny along with them. And Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and himself all went to Hogwarts together.

But even after school, the Leaky Cauldron always seemed to be where things happened for him. This was the pub the Puddlemere United Quidditch team came to after they found their seeker.

'To Potter!' Echoes of 'to Potter' rang throughout the pub. Harry was eighteen when he joined Puddlemere United alongside ex Gryffindor Quidditch keeper and captain, Oliver Wood.

'It's good to have you back on my team, Harry!' Would said cheerfully, slapping Harry on the back, one hand clutching a tiny shot glass, 'Drink up, Harry, drink up! After tonight alcohol will be something you'll rarely get to enjoy.'

And Oliver was right. Alcohol was something that was frowned upon in the world of Quidditch. Hangovers weren't the best thing to have with a looming match ahead. But that night did indeed make up for it. The celebration was fantastic. He was happy, Ron was happy, Hermione was happy and Ginny, she was definitely happy. Her famous boyfriend had just become seeker for Puddlemere United. Harry though glumly as he looked back on it, was it inevitable? Inevitable that life has to take such a horrible turn for the worse? He would never had thought back when he was eighteen, that by the age of twenty-four he'd be contemplating divorce. He always just imagined things could get better… His parents were happy, weren't they?

But Harry never stopped to think that, yes his parents had been very happy together, but they died when they were twenty-one. When Harry himself was twenty-one, was he just as happy with Ginny as his parents had been together?

He couldn't help but think, if things had been different, if his parents had survived, what would they be doing now? Would they have got divorced at such a young age? What would he have done if that was the case? Harry wasn't think too much of himself here, he wasn't even thinking about Ginny and what she thought of all this. He was thinking about his children. Would they even understand it? Who would they live with? And if it was with him what would he do with Lily when she got older? He didn't know how to raise a daughter.

Wait! Harry instantly became worried, there was also something else he had never thought about, when his children got older, and found out what had happened, would they be totally against him? He _cheated _on their mother. Surely that was grounds for hating him? Sure, he got on well with his kids now. But Ginny wasn't above playing him. He already established that she was crazy. She could do anything.


End file.
